Analog Master Tapes Used for Albums from the Seventies & Eighties
Pictured in the disc cutting studio at Bernie Grundman Mastering are (L-R) Charles Benson of Rhino Records and mastering engineer Chris Bellman. Photo by David Goggin.
Rhino Records has booked the cutting room at Bernie Grundman Mastering for the vinyl reissue of classic Ramones albums from the late 70s and early 80s. Included in the first series are “Ramones” (1976), “Leave Home” (1977), “Rocket to Russia” (1977), and “Road to Ruin” (1978). Release date is July 19, 2011.
Rhino Records’ Asset/Media Supervisor Charles Benson joined mastering engineer Chris Bellman in the disc cutting studio to cut lacquers from the original 1/4″ analog Dolby stereo masters. Songs to be reissued include “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Beat on the Brat,” “Pinhead,” “I Wanna Sniff Glue,” and
“Teenage Lobotomy.”
“There has definitely been a renewed interest and resurgence in vinyl releases,” remarked Benson. “The young audience is happy to have something they can hold onto in this analog format with large graphic album covers, and something that gives you more of an experience than an mp3 file.”
“The tapes are playing back fine, although we did have to bake one of the master tapes before playback,” explained Chris Bellman, whose mastering credits include albums by Alanis Morissette, The Black-Eyed Peas, and Tom Petty.
The Ramones was formed in Queens, NY, in 1974 and are often cited as the first punk rock group. All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname “Ramone”, though none of them were related. Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In addition to The Ramones, Rhino has worked with engineer Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering for the vinyl reissues of ZZ Top, The Grateful Dead, and other classic rock groups. Producer T-Bone Burnett, a proponent of vinyl recordings, recently addressed the Library of Congress and encouraged archiving to vinyl, a format that can last hundreds of years if properly stored.
To see a 90-second video interview in the disc cutting studio at Bernie Grundman Mastering, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4JAO6k8cLQ
For more info about Bernie Grundman Mastering, visit: http://www.berniegrundmanmastering.com
